House Speaker Ron Mariano wants more answers before he moves forward with funding for expanded passenger rail service between Pittsfield and Boston, Massachusetts.

Massachusetts House Speaker calls request for east-west rail authority 'very premature'

Beacon Hill in 5 is a weekly check-in at the Massachusetts Statehouse from New England Public Media. Get a quick look at the week ahead in state politics and government with Carrie Healy, NEPM’s Morning Edition host, and a journalist from the State House News Service.

Government

Experts say road congestion is back to pre-pandemic levels in Massachusetts. Will state lawmakers be more receptive to adding tolls?

Are Massachusetts lawmakers warming to the idea of expanded tolls?

About two months remain in the calendar for the Massachusetts Legislature. The state House last week passed a major hospital oversight proposal. This week, state senators will debate their proposed spending plan.

Massachusetts lawmakers have a long to-do list — and it's growing

Employers and the economy in Massachusetts are being affected by too few workers. We take a look at the Senate's proposed spending plan through the lens of the workforce.

Workforce shortages in WMass. How are lawmakers addressing the issue?

Alcohol oversight has traditionally all been done by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, until the House's spending plan re-assigned oversight at casino restaurants last month.

Mass. officials at odds over liquor license oversight at the state's 3 casinos

Legislators in the Massachusetts House passed a bill, among hundreds attached in amendments to the budget, aimed at disclosing the use of artificial intelligence in political messages.

Massachusetts House Speaker calls request for east-west rail authority 'very premature'

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